AlterNet.org: Matt Williamshttp://www.alternet.org/authors/matt-williams
enCrisis: 40,000 Need Homes as Massive Snow Storm Approaches NYhttp://www.alternet.org/crisis-40000-need-homes-massive-snow-storm-approaches-ny
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<div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Cold weather heads towards tens of thousands of people who still have no power or heat and are living in homes damaged by superstorm Sandy.</div></div></div>
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<!--smart_paging_autop_filter--> <p> </p><p> </p><p>Authorities in the north-east <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa" target="_blank" title="More from guardian.co.uk on United States">United States</a> are warning of a new crisis facing the region as cold weather heads towards tens of thousands of people who still have no power or heat and are living in homes damaged by superstorm Sandy.</p><p>While much of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/new-york" target="_blank" title="More from guardian.co.uk on New York">New York</a> City is approaching a semblance of normality, state governor <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/andrew-cuomo" target="_blank" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Andrew Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a> and the city’s mayor <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/michaelbloomberg" target="_blank" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Michael Bloomberg">Michael Bloomberg</a>said on Sunday that plummeting temperatures were now one of the main threats facing residents in other stricken areas such as Staten Island and Long Island.</p><p>Cuomo warned of a “massive, massive housing problem”, with up to 40,000 people – mainly residents of public housing – needing relocating because of damage from the storm and the lack of electricity and heat.</p><p> </p><p>“People are in homes that are uninhabitable,” Cuomo told reporters at a press briefing. “It’s going to become increasingly clear that they’re uninhabitable when the temperature drops and the heat doesn’t come on.”</p><p>Fuel shortages are also having an impact on people with back-up generators. “There are continuing issues with the fuel delivery and fuel distribution system,” he said.</p><p>But he added that “there has been improvement, [and] there will be more improvement.”</p><p>The White House has sanctioned the release of an additional 12m gallons of unleaded fuel and 10m gallons of diesel. Much of that gas was being trucked to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/new-jersey" target="_blank" title="More from guardian.co.uk on New Jersey">New Jersey</a> and New York throughout the weekend.</p><p>In the worst-hit areas of New York and New Jersey, which are still suffering six days after Sandy hit, there is growing anger among residents at the official response.</p><p>In the Rockaways, an oceanfront section of Queens, Bloomberg was barracked by people as he toured the devastation over the weekend. Thousands there are still without power, and have been told they may remain so for days to come.</p>“When are we going to get some help?” one woman shouted during an angry confrontation on Saturday.<p>City officials have turned to opening warming shelters in preparation for a drop of temperatures overnight.</p><p>Elderly people were being urged to move to these temporary homes. Meanwhile, about 25,000 blankets were being handed out to those who refused to move.</p><p>But many believe the measures represent too little, too late, with some residents accusing the city of forgetting them in the rush to get the lights back on in the financial centre of lower Manhattan.</p><p>“Nothing right is going on here. There’s old ladies in my building that have got nothing,” one resident told Bloomberg during his walkabout in the Rockaways. In a one-to-one with the mayor, the man complained: “This is the first drop-off site over the bridge, [and] we can’t even get a bottle of water or a hot chocolate.”</p><p>Bloomberg promised that help was at hand, insisting that he understood their grievances.</p><p>“I spoke with many people who were worried and frustrated and cold,” the mayor said at a press briefing Saturday. “There is no power there and temperatures are dropping. Even those who have generators are having a hard time getting fuel.”</p><p>Gas shortages could continue for days, New Yorkers were told Sunday. Throughout the weekend, lines of cars queued up at pumps across New York. In neighbouring New Jersey, governor Chris Christie imposed rationing to cope with the scarcity of gas.</p><p>At least 10 arrests have so far been made in relation to confrontations and line jumping at petrol stations.</p><p>While parts of Staten Island and remote parts of Queens continue to struggle with blackouts, Manhattan is on its way to being restored to business as usual.</p><p>Schools are due to reopen on Monday after a week out, and much of the subway will be running, though Cuomo warned commuters that the system may struggle to cope with the weight of traffic. “There’s been major progress but it’s not going to be normal tomorrow,” he said.</p><p>“South Ferry station, which had been a large fish tank, has now been pumped dry,” he added.</p><p>Cuomo also warned utilities firms that they would be held accountable for any delays that could have been prevented.</p><p>“I want them to provide the service that they get paid to perform,” he said, adding: “We will be reasonable, but we will hold them accountable.”</p><p>Bloomberg echoed governor Cuomo’s call on utilities firms to up their game.</p><p>“We urge them to commit more resources to get power back to the Rockaways,” the mayor said in an update on recovery efforts.</p><p>Bloomberg also stressed the need to keep warm and check on vulnerable neighbours who made need help.</p><p>“It is cold outside and it will remain cold in the coming days. It is critical that people stay warm,” he said in a Sunday afternoon press briefing.</p><p>He spoke of an “enormous outpouring” of donations of clothes and food from members of the public but added that money sent to the Mayor’s Fund would do more good at this stage as charity organisations were at capacity.</p><p>Power had now been restored to all but 145,000 people across New York City. But 19,000 homes in the Rockaways – one of the worst hit areas – remained without electricity.</p> Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:18:00 -0800Matt Williams, The Guardian738946 at http://www.alternet.orgsandynew yorkheatwaterSikh Temple Shooting: At Least Six Worshippers Killed in Wisconsinhttp://www.alternet.org/sikh-temple-shooting-least-six-worshippers-killed-wisconsin
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<div class="field field-name-field-teaser field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Witnesses fear that their community was targeted in a hate crime. </div></div></div>
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<!--smart_paging_autop_filter--><p> </p><p>At least six people were killed and more wounded when a gunman opened fire on worshippers at a Sikh temple in the US.</p><p>The shooting took place shortly before 10.30am local time at a place of worship in Oak Creek, south of Milwaukee, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/wisconsin" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Wisconsin">Wisconsin</a>.</p><p>Police said the gunman was shot by an officer who enagaged him in fire immediately after arriving on the scene. The officer was hit several times, but was able to return fire. The suspect is believed to have died, and the officer was taken to hospital, where he is critically ill.</p><p>Emergency teams found the bodies of four victims inside the temple. Three more corpses lay outside the building, apparently including that of the suspect. A police spokesman said the officer who arrived on the scene was able to "put down" the gunman.</p><p>The officer was taken to hospital and was admitted for surgery. It is thought he is one of three people said to have been left in a critical condition as a result of gunshot wounds. There were no confirmed reports of the total number of people injured, but early reports put the figure between four and up to 30.</p><p>Police said Sunday afternoon that the situation was contained. There had earlier been fears that a second gunman remained at large and was holding worshippers hostage. A cordon was placed around the temple on Sunday afternoon – leading to conflicting initial reports as to how many people remained inside, and the extent of their injuries.</p><p>Ambulances and police marksman surrounded the temple. But early tactical sweeps by officers indicated the shootings were carried out by a sole gunman.</p><p>Bradley Wentlandt, police chief of the nearby town of Greenfield, confirmed later that there was only one suspect. "There is no evidence of additional shooters at the temple," he said during a press briefing outside the temple.</p><p>Officers began bringing worshippers out of the building on Sunday afternoon after establishing that there was no further threat.</p><p>The injured police officer responded to a 911 call at around 10.25 local time. "An officer arrived at the scene. He engaged immediately in active shooting [with the suspect]. He was shot multiple times," a police spokesman said.</p><p>Police said it was too early to speculate over a motive for the attack. But some worshippers at the centre told media that they feared it was a hate crime.</p><p>A spokeswoman for Froedert Hospital, the main trauma centre in the area, told CNN that two men had been admitted with gunshot wounds, but that that staff had been told to prepare for more.</p><p>It is thought that around 50 people were trapped inside the temple as the shootings took place.</p><p>Prominent members of the local Sikh community were amongst those thought to have been injured by the gunman.</p><p>Jatin Der Mangat, 38, of Racine, said his uncle, temple's president Satwant Singh Kaleka was one of those wounded, but he didn't know how serious his injuries were.</p><p>"It was like the heart just sat down," he said. "This shouldn't happen anywhere."</p><p>Sukhwindar Nagr, also of Racine, said he called his brother-in-law's phone and a priest at the temple answered and told him that his brother-in-law had been shot, along with three priests.</p><p>Children hid in closets in the temple amid fears that the suspect was still on the loose, the priest told Nagr.</p><p>Meanwhile in a statement, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker said: "Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as we all struggle to comprehend the evil that begets this terrible violence."</p><p>Barack Obama was informed of the latest atrocity shortly before 1pm ET by homeland security adviser John Brennan.</p><p>In a statement, the president said he was "deeply saddened". He added: "At this difficult time, the people of Oak Creek must know that the American people have them in our thoughts and prayers, and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed and wounded."</p><p>The incident in Wisconsin comes two weeks after 12 people were killed and nearly 60 injured in a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises.</p> Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:00:00 -0700Matt Williams, The Guardian687582 at http://www.alternet.orgNews & Politicswisconsinsikhtempleshootingviolenceterrorism